Saturday, 16 April 2016

Mr Fix It

It's amazing what a difference one extra day at work makes. So, sorry if you've been to visit and haven't found a new post recently! I'm glad that I had time to create a card today. I haven't done any proper colouring recently, nor made a stepper card. I've also used some supplies for this card that I've been hoarding for ages and not used (the core'dinations card, stamps and embossing folder). The dies are a mix of very old and relatively new but previously unused, so I thought this would be an ideal card to link to Carolyn Dube's 'Let's Play' page.

I decided to use an heavy duty ivory card, both to create the stepper base and for all the stamping and die cutting. I also used ProMarkers for all the colouring. The stepper base was created from one sheet of A4; scored in half. I used a template that I found on the Whiff of Joy blog (thanks for sharing) which was perfect for what I wanted. As I wanted a masculine card and had decided on a DIY theme the main colours were to be shades of brown, with an occasional splash of colour. I made the fortuitous choice (as you will see later) to use the A4 Design Grids folder by Teresa Collins and Craftwell to emboss the brown core'dinations card for the background. Once I had sanded the card, I cut a piece 14.3cm x 20.5cm and cut a 5cm strip (x14.3cm) from each edge. I then cut a 2cm strip from the bottom of the remaining piece and glued them onto the outside front of the stepper so that the three pieces look as if they are one continuous 'u' shape. I then trimmed the remaining piece to fit the two central panels, leaving a narrow border around the edge.The fun part was creating the topper elements. I stamped the Messy Rabbit, paint pot and brush from the DIY Rabbit set by Joanna Sheen onto ivory card using Rich Cocoa Memento ink and die cut the Mr Fix It set (plaque, hammer, screwdriver and spanner) by Spellbinders as well as all the elements of the Garden Step ladder die by Poppystamps and the small Happy Birthday die from Crafter's Companion from the same card. I wasn't initially going to include the tools as it was only the Mr Fix It plaque that I had planned on using; but at the end I had a gap on the back centre panel to fill; the embossing reminded me of a tool storage board hanging in the garage and the tools finished the card off perfectly! The stamped images were coloured using ProMarkers and fussy cut out; the Mr Fix It plaque was coloured with Ground Espresso distress ink, using the die as a stencil and the elements of the step ladder were also coloured using ProMarkers before being glued together. All that remained was to add the elements to the base card using a mix of foam pads and glue, with a large brad to attach the Mr Fix It plaque.